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The Argyr
The Argyr, also known as the Cube of Gond, was a tome sacred to the Gondar faith. Description The Argyr had the form of a cube, about 1' (0.3 m) on a side, crafted of adamantine and plated with electrum. Four of the cube's sides each bore six pull rings, each of which was attached to a thin coiled sheet of metal that unrolled from within the cube when pulled. All of these sheets, twenty-four in total, were engraved with different spells, some of which were found nowhere else outside the island-nation of Lantan, where The Argyr was originally crafted. Function The pull rings could only be pulled successfully by one who first spoke the six secret names of Gond in the correct order. Any other attempt to tamper with the cube or access the cube's contents caused The Argyr to emit a chain lightning spell and teleport away in a random direction. History Word of The Argyr's existence first emerged sometime in the 9 century DR. Shortly thereafter, it was captured from a Gondar temple in Calimport by cultists of Bhaal, led by the Tashlan cleric Othorgor. The cultists, having been previously unable to find a way to infiltrate the islands of Lantan and spread murder in that nation, decided to use The Argyr as bait. The Argyr was taken to Murder Hall, an disused castle outside Tashluta, and there successfully used to lure a number of Gondsmen to their deaths. A Baldurian adventuring party called the Griffons Away eventually managed to slay Othorgor, recover The Argyr, and return the artifact to their citadel, Griffonsroost Hall, but they too were eventually murdered by revenge-seeking Bhaalists. Their citadel was thoroughly looted and The Argyr lost for a time. Since then, the Cube of Gond resurfaced at least once, reportedly in the possession of the sage Maerltyl of Murann, shortly before both he and his home were torn apart by gargoyles who fled into the Forest of Tethir. In the mid–14th century DR, followers of Gond reported seeing visions of the cube appear above their altars during temple rituals, and at least one adventurer, Hadrar "Hawkblade" Bruynnis, reported having briefly had possession of the cube in an underground complex beneath the Forest of Tethir, before he was chased away by wights and other fell creatures. Contents The pages on the first side of The Argyr contained the spells command, detect snares and pits, find traps, heat metal, light, and produce flame; the second, call lightning, continual light, dispel magic, divine purpose, locate object, and warp wood; the third, blade barrier, meld into stone, repair, snare, tongues, and water walk; and the fourth, control temperature, 10' radius, heal, protection from lightning, regenerate, understand device, and wall of fire. According to one anonymous scroll, uncovered in Turmish by the sage Uthlan "Wonderseeker" Abardreth, patriarch of Gond in Chessenta, pulling out all the pages at once and uttering the secret names of Gond another time would cause an additional rare spell, fist of Gond, to appear on the device in illuminated letters. Appendix References Category:Books (in-universe) Category:Spellbooks Category:Magic items Category:Gondar items Category:Adamantine items Category:Items from Lantan Category:Items from the Trackless Sea Category:Items from Toril Category:Items